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THE  RUINS  OF  CHOQQUEQUIRAU 


By  HIRAM  BINGHAM 


Reprinted  from  the  American  Anthropologist  (n.  s.),  Vol.  XII,  No.  4, 
October-December,  19I0 


Lancaster  Pa.,  U.  S.  A. 
The  New  Era  Printing  Company 
191 1 


BERNARD  A'^OSES 


[Reprinted  from  the  American  Anthropologist,  Vol.  12,  No.  4,  Oct.-Dec,  1910.] 


THE  RUINS  OF  CHOQQUEQUIRAU 
By  HIRAM   BINGHAM 

IN  February,  1909,  I  undertook  to  go  on  muleback  from  Cuzco 
to  Huancayo,  the  present  terminus  of  the  Lima-Oroya  Rail- 
road. It  was  my  purpose  to  follow  the  old  Spanish  trade 
route  that  was  used  not  only  by  the  armies  of  Pizarro  and  the  Incas, 
but  also  by  the  armies  of  both  patriots  and  royalists  in  the  wars 
of  independence  (see  fig.  52).  I  had  as  companion  Mr  Clarence 
Q.  Hay,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 


Fig.   52. — Sketch  map  of  part  of  Peru  showing  route  from  Cuzco  to  Choqquequirau. 

On  the  fourth  day  out  from  Cuzco  we  reached  the  town  of 
Abancay,  the  capital  of  the  Department  of  the  Apurimac,  where 
we  were  welcomed  by  Hon.  J.  J.  Nuiiez  who  was  then  prefect  of 
the  department,  a  man  of  unusual  ability  and   energy.     Scarcely 

505 


5o6  AMERICAN    ANTHROPOLOGIST  [n.  s.,  12.  1910 

had  he  taken  time  to  show  us  those  courtesies  which  are  such  a 
pleasant  feature  of  Spanish  American  hospitahty,  than  he  broached 
the  subject  of  Choqquequirau,  and  begged  us  to  visit  this  famous 
Inca  stronghold  which  had  recently  been  rendered  readily  accessible 
for  the  first  time  in  the  memory  of  man. 

It  seems  that  in  Quichua,  the  language  of  the  Incas,  still  spoken 
by  a  majority  of  the  mountaineers  of  Peru,  Choqquequirau  means 
"Cradle  of  Gold."  Attracted  by  this  romantic  name  and  by  the 
lack  of  all  positive  knowledge  concerning  its  last  defenders,  several 
attempts  had  been  made  during  the  past  century  to  explore  its 
ruins  and  to  discover  the  treasure  which  it  is  supposed  the  Incas 
hid  here  instead  of  allowing  it  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  Pizarro  with 
the  ransom  of  Atahualpa.  Owing  to  the  very  great  difficulty  of 
reaching  the  site  of  the  ruins  a  tradition  had  grown  up  that  the 
Incas  built  a  great  city  that  once  contained  over  15,000  inhabitants, 
high  up  on  the  mountain-side,  six  thousand  feet  above  the  river 
Apurimac.  That  the  tradition  had  a  basis  of  fact  had  been  demon- 
strated occasionally  by  bold  mountain  climbers  who  succeeded  in 
reaching  a  part  of  the  ruin. 

We  were  told  that  the  first  man  to  reach  there  went  and  came 
alone.  All  he  saw  was  a  stone  wall  which  he  reached  late  in  the 
afternoon,  exhausted  and  without  food.  He  slept  in  its  shelter, 
left  his  gun  as  proof  that  he  had  been  there,  and  came  away  early 
the  next  morning  anxious  only  to  get  home.  A  generation  later 
a  small  party  of  adventurers  succeeded  in  reaching  the  ruins  with 
enough  food  to  last  them  for  two  days.  They  excavated  two  or 
three  holes  in  a  vain  effort  to  find  buried  treasure  and  returned 
with  a  tale  of  sufferings  that  kept  any  one  from  following  their 
example  for  twenty  years.  They  brought  back  reports  of  rocky 
"palaces,  paved  squares,  temples,  prisons  and  baths,"  all  crumbling 
away  beneath  luxuriant  tropical  vegetation.  Then  a  local  magis- 
trate, dreaming  of  untold  riches,  so  ran  the  tale,  endeavored  to  con- 
struct a  path  by  which  it  might  be  possible  to  reach  Choqquequirau 
and  to  maintain  a  transportation  service  of  Indian  carriers  who 
could  provide  workmen  with  food  while  they  were  engaged  in  making 
a  systematic  effort  to  unearth  the  "cradle  of  gold."  This  man  had 
at  his  disposal  the  services  of  a  company  of  soldiers  and  a  large 


BiNGHAMJ  THE  RUINS   OF   CHOQQUEQUIRAU  507 

number  of  Indians,  and  it  is  said  that  he  expended  a  large  amount 
of  time  and  money  in  his  quest.  He  succeeded  in  reaching  the  top 
of  the  ridge,  12,000  feet  above  the  river  and  6,000  feet  above  Choq- 
quequirau,  but  was  unable  to  scale  the  precipices  that  surround  the 
ruins  and  all  his  labor  came  to  nought.  Others  tried  to  utilize  the 
path  that  he  had  made  but  without  success  until  the  present  prefect 
of  the  department  of  Apurimac,  Honorable  J.  J.  Nuiiez,  assumed 
office  and  became  interested  in  the  local  traditions.  Under  his 
patronage,  a  company  of  treasure  seekers  was  formed  and  several 
thousand  dollars  were  subscribed. 

The  first  difficulty  that  they  encountered  was  the  construction 
of  a  bridge  over  the  frightful  rapids  of  the  Apurimac.  All  efforts 
failed.  Not  a  Peruvian  could  be  found  willing  to  venture  his  life 
in  the  whirlpool  rapids.  Finally  "Don  Mariano,"  an  aged  Chinese 
peddler,  who  had  braved  the  terrors  of  the  Peruvian  mountains 
for  thirty  years,  dared  to  swim  the  river  with  a  string  tied  to  his 
waist.  Then,  after  much  patient  effort,  he  succeeded  in  securing 
six  strands  of  telegraph  wire  from  which  he  hung  short  lengths  of 
fiber  rope  and  wove  a  mat  of  reeds  two  feet  wide  to  serve  as  a  foot 
path  for  a  frail  suspension  bridge.  Once  on  the  other  side,  the 
company  was  able  to  use  a  part  of  the  trail  made  twenty  years  before, 
but  even  with  that  aid  it  took  three  months  of  hard  work  to  sur- 
mount the  difficulties  that  lay  between  the  river  and  Choqquequirau. 
Cheered  on  by  the  enthusiastic  prefect  and  his  aide,  Lieut.  Carceres, 
an  exceptionally  bold  officer,  the  task  which  had  defied  all  comers 
for  four  hundred  years,  was  accomplished.  A  trail  that  could  be 
used  by  Indian  bearers  was  constructed  through  twelve  miles  of 
mountain  forest,  over  torrents  and  precipices,  and  across  ravines 
from  the  river  to  the  ruins. 

With  these  and  similar  stories  we  were  regaled  by  one  and 
another  of  the  local  antiquarians,  including  the  president  of  the 
treasure  company  and  our  friend  the  prefect. 

We  felt  at  first  as  though  we  could  not  possibly  spare  the  week 
which  would  be  necessary  for  a  visit  that  would  be  worth  while. 
Furthermore  we  were  not  on  the  lookout  for  new  Inca  ruins  and 
had  never  heard  of  Choqquequirau.  But  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
prefect  and  his  friends  was  too  much  for  us.     The  prefect  held  it 


213253 


508  AMERICAN    ANTHROPOLOGIST  [n.  s..  12.  1910 

out  as  an  extra  inducement  that  no  foreigners  had  ever  visited 
Choqquequirau,  a  statement  that  I  later  found  to  be  incorrect. 
Finally  he  said  that  President  Leguia  of  Peru  knowing  that  we  were 
to  pass  this  way  had  requested  the  company  to  suspend  operations 
until  we  had  had  a  chance  to  see  the  ruins  in  their  original  condition. 
In  short  so  urgent  were  the  prefect's  arguments  and  so  ready  was 
he  to  make  it  easy  for  us  that  we  finally  consented  to  go  and  see 
what  his  energy  had  uncovered. 

That  night  he  gave  us  an  elaborate  banquet  to  which  he  had  in- 
vited fifteen  of  the  local  notables.  After  dinner  we  were  shown  the 
objects  of  interest  that  had  been  found  at  Choqquequirau,  including 
several  ancient  shawl  pins  and  a  few  nondescript  metallic  articles. 
The  most  interesting  was  a  heavy  club  fifteen  inches  long  and  rather 
more  than  two  inches  in  diameter,  square,  with  round  corners, 
much  like  the  wooden  clubs  with  which  the  Hawaiians  beat  tapa. 
It  has  a  yellowish  tinge  that  gave  rise  to  a  story  that  it  is  of  pure 
gold.  Unfortunately  we  had  no  means  of  analyzing  it  but  I  pre- 
sume it  was  made,  like  the  ancient  Inca  axes,  of  copper  hardened 
with  tin. 

The  next  afternoon  we  packed  and  on  the  following  morning, 
accompanied  by  a  large  cavalcade,  we  started  for  Choqquequirau. 
Most  of  our  escort  contented  themselves  with  a  mile  or  so,  and  then, 
wishing  us  good  luck,  returned  to  Abancay.  We  did  not  blame 
them.  Owing  to  unusually  heavy  rains,  the  trail  was  in  a  frightful 
state.  Well  nigh  impassable  bogs,  swollen  torrents,  avalanches 
of  boulders  and  trees  besides  the  usual  concomitants  of  a  Peruvian 
bridle-path  cheered  us  on  our  way. 

At  noon  we  stopped  a  few  moments  in  the  village  of  Cachora 
where  the  prefect  had  instructed  the  gobernador  to  prepare  us  a 
"suitable  luncheon."  This  intoxicated  worthy  offered  us  instead, 
many  apologies,  and  we  had  to  get  along  as  best  we  could  with  three 
or  four  boiled  eggs,  all  the  village  could  provide. 

All  day  long  through  rain  and  heavy  mists  that  broke  away 
occasionally  to  give  us  glimpses  of  wonderfully  deep  green  valleys, 
and  hillsides  covered  with  rare  flowers,  we  rode  along  a  slippery 
path  that  grew  every  hour  more  treacherous  and  difificult.  In 
order  to  reach  the  little  camp  on  the  bank  of  the  Apurimac  that 


BINGHAM]  THE   RUINS  OF    CHOQQUEQVIRAU  509 

night  we  hurried  forward  as  fast  as  possible  although  frequently 
tempted  to  linger  by  the  sight  of  acres  of  magnificent  pink  begonias 
and  square  miles  of  blue  lupins.  By  five  o'clock,  we  began  to 
hear  the  roar  of  the  great  river  seven  thousand  feet  below  us  in  the 
caiion.  The  Apurimac,  which  flows  through  the  Ucayali  to  the 
Amazon,  rises  in  a  little  lake  near  Arequipa,  so  far  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Amazon  that  it  may  be  said  to  be  the  parent  stream  of  that 
mighty  river.  By  the  time  it  reaches  this  region  it  is  a  raging  torrent 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide  and,  at  this  time  of  the  year,  over 
eighty  feet  deep.  Its  roaring  voice  can  be  heard  so  many  miles 
away  that  it  is  called  by  the  Quichua,  the  Apurimac,  or  the  "Great 
Speaker." 

Our  guide,  the  enthusiastic  Carceres,  declared  that  we  had 
now  gone  far  enough.  As  it  was  beginning  to  rain  and  the  road 
from  there  on  was  "worse  than  anything  we  had  as  yet  experienced," 
he  said  it  would  be  better  to  camp  for  the  night  in  an  abandoned 
hut  nearby.  His  opinion  was  eagerly  welcomed  by  two  of  the 
party,  young  men  from  Abancay,  who  were  having  their  first  real 
adventure,  but  the  two  "  Yankis"  decided  that  it  was  best  to  reach 
the  river  if  possible.  Carceres  finally  consented,  and,  aided  by  the 
dare-devil  Castillo,  we  commenced  a  descent  that  for  tortuous 
turns  and  narrow  escapes  beat  anything  we  had  yet  seen. 

An  hour  after  dark  we  came  out  on  a  terrace.  The  roar  of  the 
river  was  so  great  that  we  could  scarcely  hear  Carceres  shouting 
out  that  our  troubles  were  now  over  and  "all  the  rest  was  level 
ground."  This  turned  out  to  be  only  his  little  joke.  We  were 
still  a  thousand  feet  above  the  river  and  a  path  cut  in  the  face  of  a 
sheer  precipice  had  yet  to  be  negotiated.  In  broad  daylight  we 
should  never  have  dared  to  ride  down  the  tortuous  trail  that  led 
from  the  terrace  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  but  as  it  was  quite  dark 
and  we  were  entirely  innocent  of  any  danger  we  readily  followed 
the  cheery  voice  of  our  guide.  The  path  is  what  is  known  as  a 
corkscrew  and  descended  the  wall  of  the  caiion  by  means  of  short 
turns,  each  twenty  feet  long.  At  one  end  of  each  turn  was  a  sheer 
precipice  while  at  the  other  was  a  chasm  down  which  plunged  a 
small  cataract  which  had  a  clear  fall  of  seven  hundred  feet.  Half 
way  down  the  path  my  mule  stopped,  trembling,  and  I  dismounted 


5IO  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [n.  s.,  12,  1910 

to  find  that  in  the  darkness  he  had  walked  off  the  trail  and  had 
slid  down  the  clifi"  to  a  ledge.  How  to  get  him  back  was  a  problem. 
It  is  not  easy  to  back  an  animal  up  a  steep  hill,  and  there  was  no 
room  in  which  to  turn  him  around.  It  was  such  a  narrow  escape 
that,  when  I  got  safely  back  upon  the  trail,  I  decided  to  walk  the 
rest  of  the  way  and  let  the  mule  go  first,  preferring  to  have  him  fall 
over  the  precipice  alone  if  that  were  necessary. 

Two-thirds  of  the  way  down  the  descent  came  the  crux  of  the 
whole  matter  for  here  the  path  crossed  the  narrow  chasm  close  to 
and  directly  in  front  of  the  cataract;  and  in  the  midst  of  its  spray. 
There  was  no  bridge.  To  be  sure,  the  waterfall  was  only  three 
feet  wide,  but  it  was  pitch  dark.  As  I  could  not  see  the  other  side 
of  the  chasm,  I  did  not  dare  to  jump  alone  but  remounted  my  mule, 
held  my  breath,  and  gave  him  both  spurs  at  once.  His  jump  was 
successful.  Ten  minutes  later  we  saw  the  welcome  light  of  the 
master  of  the  camp  who  came  out  to  guide  us  through  a  thicket  of 
mimosa  trees  that  grew  on  the  lower  terrace  just  above  the  river. 

The  camp  consisted  of  two  huts,  6x7,  built  of  reeds.  Here  we 
passed  a  most  uncomfortable  night. 

While  breakfast  was  being  prepared  we  went  out  to  take  picutres 
and  measurements  of  the  bridge.  This  was  273  feet  long  by  32 
inches  wide,  and  the  river  250  feet  wide.  "Don  Mariano,"  the 
builder  of  the  bridge,  told  us  that  when  construction  commenced, 
the  water  was  nearly  eighty  feet  below  the  bridge  although  at 
present  the  river  had  risen  so  that  it  was  only  twenty-five  feet  below 
it,  an  increase  in  depth  of  over  fifty  feet.  An  almost  incredible  bulk 
of  water  was  roaring  between  its  steep  banks.  It  was  estimated 
at  100  feet  deep,  and  yet  the  water  piled  up  on  itself  in  such  a  way 
as  to  give  the  appearance  of  running  against  huge  boulders  in  mid- 
stream. 

We  sent  the  Indian  bearers  ahead  with  our  luggage.  Pack 
animals  could  not  possibly  use  the  trail  on  the  other  s"de  of  the 
river  and  the  bridge  was  not  constructed  to  carry  their  weight. 
The  surprising  thing  was  that  the  Indians  were  very  much  afraid 
of  the  frail  little  bridge  which  Chinese  courage  and  ingenuity  had 
built,  and  crept  gingerly  across  it  on  their  hands  and  knees  while 
they  carried  our  luggage  and  supplies  to  the  other  side  of  the  river. 


BINGHAM]  THE   RUINS  OF   CHOQQUEQUIRAU  5II 

They  had  been  accustomed  for  centuries  to  using  frail  suspension 
bridges  much  less  strong  in  reality  than  this  little  structure.  But 
they  are  not  acquainted  with  the  tenacity  of  wire  and  it  seemed  the 
height  of  frivolity  to  them  that  we  should  be  willing  to  trust  our 
lives  to  such  a  small  "rope."  Yet  the  much  larger  fiber  ropes 
of  which  their  suspension  bridges  were  constructed  would  not  begin 
to  stand  the  strain  as  well  as  these  six  telegraph  wires. 

After  a  breakfast,  of  thin  soup  and  boiled  sweet  potatoes,  we 
girded  ourselves  for  the  ascent.  The  river  at  this  point  is  about 
five  thousand  feet  above  sea  level.  We  had  had  little  practice 
in  mountain  climbing,  except  on  mule  back,  for  many  months,  and 
it  seemed  like  a  pretty  serious  undertaking  to  attempt  to  climb  six 
thousand  feet  more  to  an  elevation  of  eleven  thousand  feet.  This 
will  sound  tame  enough  to  the  experienced  mountain  climber  al- 
though it  was  anything  but  easy  for  us.  Our  patient,  long-suffering 
Quichua  bearers,  coming  of  a  race  that,  at  high  altitudes,  is  in  the 
habit  of  marching  distances  which  appear  incredibly  long  to  those 
students  of  military  history  that  have  confined  their  attention  to 
the  movements  of  European  troops,  bore  their  burdens  most  cheer- 
fully. At  the  same  time  they  gave  frequent  evidence  of  great 
fatigue  which  was  not  at  all  to  be  wondered  at  under  the  circum- 
stances. 

At  times  the  trail  was  so  steep  that  it  was  easier  to  go  on  all 
fours  than  to  attempt  to  maintain  an  erect  attitude.  Occasionally 
we  crossed  streams  in  front  of  waterfalls  on  slippery  logs  or  treach- 
erous little  foot  bridges.  At  other  times  we  clung  to  the  face  of 
rocky  precipices  or  ascended  by  roughly  constructed  ladders  from 
one  elevation  to  another.  Although  the  hillside  was  too  precipi- 
tous to  allow  much  forest  growth,  no  small  part  of  the  labor  of 
making  the  path  had  been  the  work  of  cutting  through  dense 
underbrush. 

As  we  mounted,  the  view  of  the  valley  became  more  and  more 
magnificent.  Nowhere  have  I  ever  witnessed  such  beauty  and 
grandeur  as  was  here  displayed.  A  white  torrent  raged  through 
the  canon  six  thousand  feet  below  us.  Where  its  sides  were  not 
too  precipitous  to  admit  of  vegetation,  the  steep  slopes  were  covered 
with  green  foliage  and  luxuriant  flowers.      From  the  hilltops  near 


512  AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST  [n.  s.,  12,  1910 

US  Other  slopes  rose  six  thousand  feet  beyond  and  above  to  the 
glaciers  and  snow  capped  summits  of  Mts  Sargantay  and  Soray. 
In  the  distance,  as  far  as  we  could  see,  a  maze  of  hills,  valleys, 
tropical  jungles,  and  snow-capped  peaks  held  the  imagination  as 
though  by  a  spell.  Such  were  our  rewards^ as  we  lay  panting  by 
the  side  of  the  little  path  when  we  had  reached  its  highest  point. 

After  getting  our  wind,  we  followed  the  trail  westward,  skirting 
more  precipices  and  crossing  other  torrents  until,  about  two  o'clock, 
we  rounded  a  promontory  and  caught  our  first  glimpse  of  the  ruins 
of  Choqquequirau  on  the  slopes  of  a  bold  mountain  headland  six 
thousand  feet  above  the  river.  Between  the  outer  hilltop  and  the 
ridge  connecting  it  with  the  snow-capped  mountains  a  depression 
or  saddle  had  been  terraced  and  leveled  so  as  to  leave  a  space  for 
the  more  important  buildings  of  the  Inca  stronghold. 

At  three  o'clock  we  reached  a  glorious  waterfall  whose  icy  waters, 
coming  probably  from  the  glaciers  on  Soray,  cooled  our  heads  and 
quenched  our  thirst.  We  had  now  left  our  companions  far  behind 
and  were  pushing  slowly  along  through  the  jungle  when  shortly 
before  four  o'clock  we  saw  terraces  in  the  near  distance.  Just  as 
we  began  to  enjoy  the  prospect  of  reaching  Choqquequirau  alone, 
Carceres  and  Castillo  caught  up  with  us.  They  had  stayed  behind 
in  a  futile  attempt  to  encourage  the  Indian  bearers  and  the  other 
adventurers  to  have  more  "valor."  The  others  did  not  arrive  until 
the  next  morning,  not  even  the  Quichua  carriers  on  whom  we 
depended  for  food  and  blankets,  and  owing  to  their  non-appearance 
we  passed  an  uncomfortable  night  in  the  smallest  of  the  little 
thatched  huts  which  the  workmen  had  erected  for  their  own  use. 
It  was  scarcely  three  feet  high  and  about  6  ft.  long  by  4  ft.  wide. 
The  day  had  been  warm  and,  in  our  efforts  to  make  climbing  as 
easy  as  possible,  we  had  divested  ourselves  of  all  our  warm  clothes. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a  shelter  tent  was  pulled  down  and 
wrapped  around  us  for  warmth,  and  stacks  of  dry  grass  piled  about 
us,  we  were  scarcely  able  to  close  our  eyes  for  the  cold  and  chilling 
dampness  all  night  long. 

The  humidity  was  one  hundred  or  nearly  so  during  the  four  days 
which  we  spent  on  the  mountain.  Consequently  we  passed  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  in  thick  mist  or  rain. 


BINGHAM]  THE   RUINS   OF   CHOQQUEQU IRAU  513 

We  had  reached  Choqquequirau  (plate  xl),  after  a  hard  dimb,  on 
February  7,  1909.  The  next  morning  we  began  at  once  to  take 
measurements  and  get  what  pictures  we  could.  We  found  that 
the  ruins  were  clustered  in  several  groups,  both  on  terraces  and 
natural  shelves,  reached  by  winding  paths  or  stairways.  Some 
buildings  were  long  and  narrow  and  of  one  story;  others  of  a  story- 
and-a-half  with  tall  gables.  The  buildings  were  placed  close 
together,  probably  in  order  to  economize  all  the  available  space. 
It  is  likely  that  every  square  yard  that  could  be  given  to  agricul- 
ture was  cultivated. 

Magnificent  precipices  guard  the  ruins  on  every  side  and  render 
Choqquequirau  virtually  inaccessible  to  an  enemy.  Every  avenue 
of  ascent,  except  such  as  the  engineers  determined  to  leave  open, 
was  closed  and  every  strategic  spot  was  elaborately  fortified. 
Wherever  it  might  have  been  possible  for  a  bold  mountaineer  to 
gain  a  foothold,  the  Incas  had  built  well  faced  walls  of  stone  so  as 
to  leave  an  adventurous  assailant  no  support.  The  terraces  thus 
made  served  the  double  purpose  of  military  defense  and  of  keeping 
the  soil  from  sliding  away  from  the  gardens  down  the  steep  hillside. 

As  may  be  seen  from  the  map,  the  ruins  consist  of  three  distinct 
groups  of  buildings. 

All  had  been  more  or  less  completely  hidden  by  trees  and  vines 
during  the  centuries  of  solitude.  Fortunately  for  us  the  treasure- 
seeking  company  had  done  excellent  work  in  clearing  away  from 
the  more  important  buildings  the  tangled  mass  of  vegetation  that 
had  formerly  covered  them.  Dynamite  had  also  been  used  in 
various  likely  spots  where  treasure  might  have  been  buried.  But 
the  workmen  had  found  no  gold  and  only  a  few  objects  of  interest, 
including,  besides  those  we  saw  at  Abancay,  a  few  clay  pots  and  two 
or  three  grinding  stones  of  a  pattern  still  in  use  in  this  part  of  the 
Andes  and  as  far  north  as  Panama  (plate  xli,  a). 

At  the  top  of  the  southern  and  outer  precipice,  five  thousand 
eight  hundred  feet  immediately  above  the  Apurimac  river,  stands 
a  parapet  and  the  walls  of  two  buildings  without  windows.  The 
view  from  here,  both  up  and  down  the  valley  of  the  Apurimac, 
surpasses  the  possibilities  of  language  for  adequate  description.  No 
photograph  gives  more  than  the  faintest  idea  of  its  beauty  and  gran- 

AM.  ANTH.,  N    S    ,  12 34. 


5H 


AMERICAN    ANTHROPOLOGIST 


[n.  s.,  12,  igio 


deur.  Far  down  the  gigantic  canon  one  catches  little  glimpses 
of  the  Apurimac,  a  white  stream  shut  in  between  guardian  moun- 
tains, so  narrowed  by  the  distance  that  it  seems  like  a  mere  brooklet. 
Here  and  there  through  the  valley  are  marvelous  cataracts,  one  of 
which,  two  thousand  feet  high,  has  a  clear  fall  of  over  one  thousand 
feet.  The  panorama  in  every  direction  is  wonderful  in  variety, 
contrast,  beauty,  and  grandeur. 


Fig.  53. 

North  of  this  outer  group  of  buildings  is  an  artificially  truncated 
hill.  It  is  probable  that  on  this  flattened  hilltop,  which  commands 
a  magnificent  view  up  and  down  the  valley,  signal  fires  could  be 
built  to  telegraph  to  the  heights  overlooking  Cuzco  intelligence 
of  the  approach  of  an  enemy  from  the  Amazonian  wilds. 

We  noticed  on  this  hilltop  that  small  stones  had  been  set  into 
the  ground,  in  straight  lines  crossing  and  recrossing  at  right  angles 
as  though  to  make  a  pattern.     So  much  of  it  was  covered  by  grass, 


AMERICAN    ANTHROPOLOGIST 


N     S.,   VOL.   12,   PL.   XLI 


RUINS    OF    CHOQQUEQUIRAU 
II,  Pcittery  and  stoneware  :   /'.  W  all  inti>  uhicli  were  set  curious  carved  stone  rings. 


BINGHAM]  THE   RUINS   OF   CHOQQUEQUIRAU  515 

however,  that  we  did  not  have  a  chance  to  sketch  it  in  the  time  at 
our  disposal. 

North  of  the  lookout  and  on  the  saddle  between  it  and  the  main 
ridge  is  located  the  "lower  plaza"  (fig.  53) :  a  rude  fortification  fifteen 
feet  high,  running  across  the  little  ridge  from  one  precipitous  slope 
to  the  other;  a  long  one-story  building  of  uncertain  use  in  which 
curious  carved  stone  rings  are  set  into  the  walls  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  serve  possibly  for  the  detention  of  prisoners  (plate  xli,  b);  a 
long  one-story  building  that  might  have  been  a  grand  hall  or  place 
of  meeting,  whose  walls  are  surrounded  with  numerous  niches;  and 
a  block  of  story-and-a-half  houses  whose  gabled  ends  are  still 
standing.  The  use  of  gables  was  almost  universal  in  the  central 
and  southern  parts  of  the  Inca  empire.  Ruins  of  Inca  towns  are  in 
fact  specially  marked  by  their  pointed  gables  which  almost  always 
have  one  or  two  windows,  or  entrances  to  the  second  story. 

These  double  buildings  stand  transversely  to  the  general  line 
of  the  edifices  and  have  a  middle  or  party-wall  exactly  dividing 
the  gable.  It  rises  to  the  peak  of  the  structure  and  once  doubtless 
supported  the  upper  ends  of  the  rafters.  These  houses  bear  a 
striking  resemblance  to  one  of  the  Inca  buildings  at  Ollantaytambo 
described  by  Squier  ^  in  the  following  words: 

"It  is  a  story  and  a  half  high,  built  of  rough  stones  laid  in  clay,  and 
originally  stucceod,  with  a  central  wall  reaching  to  the  apex  of  the  gables, 
dividing  it  into  two  apartments  of  equal  size.  .  .  .  There  seems  to  have 
been  no  access  to  the  upper  story  from  the  interior,  but  there  are  two  en- 
trances to  it  through  one  of  the  gables,  where  four  flat  projecting  stones  seem 
to  have  supported  a  kind  of  balcony  or  platform,  reached  probably  by 
ladders." 

This  description  fits  these  structures  almost  exactly.  There 
are  other  resemblances  between  Choqquequirau  and  the  Inca 
fortresses  visited  and  described  by  Mr  Squier.  In  fact,  one  might 
use  many  a  sentence  from  his  accounts  of  Pisac  and  Ollantaytambo 
that  would  adequately  describe  Choqquequirau  and  its  surround- 
ings. Like  the  buildings  of  Ollantaytambo,  these  are  nearly  perfect, 
lacking  only  the  roof. 

One  two-story  building  had  an  exterior  measurement  of  42  x  38 

1  E.  G.  Squier,  Peru,  Incidents  of  Travel  and  Exploration  in  the  Land  of  the  Incas, 
New  York,  1877,  p.  503. 


5l6  AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST  (n.  s.,  12,  1910 

feet.  Similar  buildings  measured  by  Squier  near  the  temple  of 
Viracocha  north  of  lake  Titicaca  were  similarly  divided  into  two 
equal  apartments  and  measured  46  x  38  feet.  The  fronts  of  each 
building  have  two  entrances  (plate  xlii,  o)  and  the  interior  of  every 
apartment  is  ornamented  with  irregular  niches  within  which  some 
of  the  stucco  still  remains.  The  walls  are  irregular  in  thickness  but 
usually  about  three  feet  thick,  and  are  composed  of  unhewn  frag- 
ments of  lava  cemented  together  with  a  stiff  clay. 

In  general,  the  w^alls  of  all  the  buildings  appear  to  have  been 
built  entirely  of  stone  and  clay.  The  construction,  compared 
with  that  of  the  Inca  palaces  in  Cuzco,  is  extremely  rude  and  rough 
and  no  two  niches  or  doors  are  exactly  alike.  Occasionally  the 
lintels  of  the  doors  were  made  of  timber,  the  builders  not  having 
taken  the  trouble  to  provide  stones  wide  enough  for  the  purpose. 
One  such  lintel  was  still  standing,  the  wood  being  of  a  remarkably 
hard  texture. 

Probably  the  ruins  today  present  a  more  striking  appearance 
than  they  did  when  they  were  covered  with  thatched  roofs. 

Ornamental  niches,  which  constitute  a  characteristic  and  con- 
stant feature  in  Inca  architecture,  appear  on  the  interior  of  all  the 
Choqquequirau  buildings  and  on  the  exterior  of  a  few.  Some  of 
those  on  the  outside  have  small  re-entering  niches.  Those  on  the 
inside  are  of  two  kinds.  The  larger  ones,  about  five  feet  high, 
reach  to  the  floors  of  the  apartments  and  are  mere  closets  as  it 
were  without  doors,  being  slightly  wider  at  the  bottom,  about 
thirty-four  inches,  than  at  the  top,  about  twenty-eight  inches,  and 
of  varying  depth,  thirteen  to  sixteen  inches.  A  second  line  of 
niches,  smaller  and  not  reaching  to  the  ground,  is  also  found  in 
several  of  the  buildings.  There  is  good  evidence  that  some  of  the 
buildings  were  faced  with  stucco  and  possibly  painted  in  colors 
differing  from  the  walls  they  were  intended  to  adorn.  In  the  case 
of  one  wall  that  had  been  partly  pushed  out  of  the  perpendicular 
by  the  action  of  time  several  of  the  niches  retained  almost  entirely 
their  coating  of  stucco  and  so  did  some  of  the  more  protected  portions 
of  the  wall  (plate  xliii,  a). 

Almost  the  only  ornamentation  which  the  buildings  contained 
besides  the  ever  present  niches,  were  cylindrical  blocks  of  stone 


AMERICAN    ANTHROPOLOr,l«!T 


N.  S.,  VOL.   12,   PL.  XLMI 


RUINS    OF    CHOQQUEQUIRAU 
<i.  Niches  still  retaininji  their  stucco:  />.   ( labled  houses  in  the  upper  plaza. 


BINGHAM]  THE   RUINS   OF   CHOQQUEQUIRAU  517 

about  three  inches  in  diameter  projecting  twelve  or  fourteen  inches 
from  the  wall  seven  feet  above  the  ground  between  each  niche. 
These  may  be  seen  in  plate  xliii,  a. 

In  one  of  the  niches  I  found  a  small  stone  whirl-bob  of  a  spindle 
wheel,  in  size  and  shape  like  those  made  from  wood  and  used  to- 
day all  over  the  Andes  by  Indian  women.  This  simple  spinning 
apparatus  consists  of  a  stick  about  as  large  as  the  little  finger  and 
from  ten  to  twelve  inches  long.  Its  lower  end  is  fitted  with  a  whirl- 
bob  of  wood  to  give  it  proper  momentum  when  it  is  set  in  motion 
by  a  twirl  of  the  forefinger  and  thumb  grasping  the  upper  end  of 
the  spindle.  It  is  in  universal  use  by  Indian  women  from  the  Andes 
of  Colombia  to  those  of  Chile  and  one  rarely  sees  a  women  tending 
sheep  or  walking  along  the  high  road  who  is  not  busily  engaged 
in  using  this  old  fashioned  spindle.  In  the  tombs  of  Pachacamac 
near  Lima  have  been  found  spindles  still  fitted  with  similar  whirl- 
bobs  of  stone. 

The  third  group  of  buildings  (fig.  54)  is  higher  up  on  the  spur,  a 
hundred  feet  or  more  above  the  second  group.  Near  the  path 
from  the  lower  to  the  upper  plaza  are  the  remains  of  a  little  azequia 
or  watercourse,  now  dry,  lined  with  flat  stones,  designed  to  carry 
a  small  stream  from  the  upper  buildings  to  the  lower.  The  south- 
east corner  of  the  upper  group  of  buildings  is  marked  by  a  huge 
projecting  rock  twenty  feet  high  and  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  diam- 
eter. Beside  it,  facing  the  eastern  slope,  is  a  giant  stairway.  It 
consists  of  fourteen  great  steps  roughly  made  and  of  varying  dimen- 
sions (plate  XLiv,  a).  They  average  about  fifteen  feet  wide,  with 
risers  four  and  a  half  feet  high  and  treads  about  six  and  a  half  feet 
deep.  It  is  possible  to  ascend  these  stairs  by  means  of  small  stone 
steps  erected  on  one  end  or  the  other  of  the  giant  step.  Walls  on 
each  side,  two  feet  wide,  serve  as  a  balustrade.  A  peculiarity  of 
the  construction  is  the  locating  of  a  huge  flat  stone  in  the  center 
of  the  riser  of  each  step.  The  view  to  the  eastward  from  this 
stairway  is  particularly  fine.  Perhaps  the  rising  sun,  chief  divinity 
of  the  Incas,  was  worshipped  here. 

Beyond  the  stairway  are  terraces,  alleyways,  walls,  and  story- 
and-a-half  buildings,  filled  with  niches  and  windows.  The  length 
of  the  first  terrace  is  slightly  over  two  hundred  feet  and  its  height 


5i8 


AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST 


(n.  S.,    12,    191O 


is  twelve  feet.  The  second  terrace  above  it  has  a  height  of  ten 
feet  and  a  length  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  feet.  Above 
these  are  two  long  alleyways  or  halls  with  niches  in  their  walls  and 
windows  looking  out  over  the  terraces.  These  halls  are  five  feet 
wide.     Back  of  these  are  buildings  resembling  in  their  construction 


-^T/. 


GeneralPuan  — 


Upper  Plaza  and  Giant  Stairway 


Giant  Stairway 


Choqouequirau 


Drawn  by  C.WDrysdale  from  Measu^emen^a 

and  Phot-ographa  taken  feb. 7.8,9.10, 1909  by  Dr  HiRAM  BiNGHAM  o„d  ClARENCC  Hay  Esq. 


Fig.  54. 

those  in  the  lower  group  of  houses  (plate  xliii,  b).  They  also  are 
decorated  with  irregular  niches  and  cylindrical  stone  projections. 
Under  these  houses,  however,  there  ran  a  small  passageway  or 
drain  twelve  inches  wide  and  ten  inches  deep.  These  two  houses 
although  roughly  built  were  as  nearly  exactly  the  same  size  as 
possible.     Between  them  ran  a  narrow  passageway   leading   to   a 


BINGHAM]  THE   RUINS   OF   CHOQQUEQUIRAU  519 

back  alley.  This  was  curiously  paved,  with  slabs  of  slate  half 
an  inch  thick.  Back  of  this  is  another  hall  five  and  a  half  feet 
wide  with  windows  in  front  and  niches  on  the  rear,  or  hill,  side. 

The  gables  of  the  upper  group  are  steeper  than  those  of  the 
lower  group  and  are  in  fact  quite  as  pointed  as  those  seen  in  Dutch 
cities.  The  two  gable  buildings  of  the  upper  group  stand  on  the 
slope  of  the  hill  in  such  a  manner  that  there  is  no  gable  on  the  side 
nearest  the  declivity.  In  other  words,  they  are  only  half  the  shape 
of  the  double  houses  below.  Nearly  all  of  these  houses  have  two 
or  three  small  rude  windows.  A  narrow  stone  stairway  leads  from 
the  back  alley  to  a  terrace  above.  This  opens  out  into  the  upper 
plaza  on  which  are  several  buildings  that  overlook  the  western 
precipices.  Two  of  the  buildings  have  no  windows  and  one  of  them 
contains  three  cells.  The  Peruvians  said  they  were  used  for  the 
detention  of  prisoners.  They  were  more  likely  storehouses.  On 
the  north  side  of  the  plaza  is  a  curious  little  structure  built  with 
the  utmost  care  and  containing  many  niches  and  nooks.  It  may 
possibly  have  been  for  the  detention  of  so  called  "virgins  of  the 
Sun"  or  have  been  the  building  in  which  criminals,  destined  to  be 
thrown  over  the  precipice  according  to  the  laws  of  the  Incas, 
awaited  their  doom.  The  plan  gives  a  good  idea  of  its  irregular 
construction. 

Above  it  the  hillside  rises  steeply  and  on  the  crest  of  the  ridge 
runs  a  little  conduit  which  we  followed  until  it  entered  the  impene- 
trable tropical  jungle  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  hill.  The  water  in  this 
little  azequia,  now  dry,  coming  straight  down  the  spur,  was  con- 
ducted over  a  terrace  into  two  well-paved  tanks  on  the  north  side 
of  the  plaza.  Thence  it  ran  across  the  plaza  to  a  little  reservoir 
or  bath-house  on  the  south  side  (plate  xlii,  b).  This  was  ten 
feet  long  by  five  feet  wide  with  low  walls  not  over  five  feet  high 
and  had  on  its  north  side  a  small  stone  basin  let  down  into  the 
floor  two  feet  by  three,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  catch  the  water 
that  flowed  over  the  edge  of  the  wall.  A  small  outlet  had  been 
provided  at  the  end  of  this  basin  so  that  the  water  could  flow 
underneath  the  floor  of  the  bath  room  or  tank  house  and  then  pro- 
ceed on  its  way  down  the  ridge  to  the  buildings  below. 

As  the  western  slope  of  the  Choqquequirau  spur  is  a  sheer  preci- 


520  AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST  (x.  s..  12.  1910 

pice,  little  attempt  at  fortification  was  made  on  that  side.  The 
eastern  slope,  however,  is  not  so  steep.  On  this  side  it  was  neces- 
sary to  build  enormous  terraces  hundreds  of  feet  long  faced  with 
perpendicular  stone  walls  twelve  feet  wide.  Two  narrow  alleys 
paved  with  stone  steps  lead  from  one  terrace  to  another. 

Near  one  of  the  terraces  I  picked  up  a  bola,  or  possibly  a  hammer- 
stone,  nearly  as  large  as  my  fist.  It  may  have  been  used  in  dressing 
the  stones  for  the  entrance  to  the  more  important  buildings. 

In  the  jungle  immediately  below  the  last  terrace,  under  ledges 
and  huge  boulders,  were  dug  little  caves  in  which  the  bones  of  the 
dead  were  placed  (plate  xliv,  b).  I  found  that  the  bones  were 
heaped  in  a  little  pile  as  though  they  had  been  cleaned  before 
being  interred.  No  earth  had  been  placed  on  them  but  on  top  of 
the  little  pile  in  one  grave  I  found  a  small  earthenware  jar  about 
one  inch  in  diameter.  It  had  no  handles  and  was  not  closed  at 
the  top  although  the  opening,  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
had  been  fitted  with  an  especially  well  made  perforated  cap. 
There  was  nothing  in  the  jar  although  it  had  retained  its  upright 
position  during  all  the  years  of  its  interment.  The  natural  entrance 
to  the  little  tomb  had  been  walled  up  with  wedge-shaped  stones 
from  the  inside  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  extremely  difficult  to 
enter  the  cave  from  the  front.  I  found,  however,  that  by  digging 
away  a  little  on  one  side  of  the  huge  boulder,  I  could  easily  remove 
the  stones,  which  had  evidently  been  placed  there  by  the  grave 
digger  after  the  bones  had  been  deposited  in  the  tomb. 

The  workmen  had  excavated  under  a  dozen  or  more  of  the  pro- 
jecting ledges  and  in  each  case  had  found  bones  and  occasionally 
shreds  of  pottery.  In  no  case,  however,  had  they  found  anything  of 
value  with  the  bones  to  indicate  that  the  persons  buried  here  were  of 
high  degree.  Probably  they  were  common  soldiers  and  servants. 
If  any  of  the  officers  of  the  garrison  or  Inca  nobles  were  ever  buried 
in  this  vicinity,  their  tombs  have  not  yet  been  discovered,  or  else 
the  graves  were  rifled  years  ago.     But  of  this  there  is  no  evidence. 

All  the  conspicuously  large  rocks  below  the  terraces  have  been 
found  to  cover  graves.  The  skulls  were  not  found  alone  but  always 
near  the  remainder  of  the  skeleton.  The  larger  bones  were  in 
fairly  good  condition  but  the  smallest  bones  had  completely  disin- 


bingham] 


THE    RUINS    OF    CHOQQUEQU IRAU 


521 


tegrated.     Neverthelesss   ribs   were   frequently    met   with.     Some 

of  the  largest  bones  could  be  crumbled  with  the  fingers  and  easily 

broken  while  others  were  very  hard  and  seemed  to  be  extremely 

well  preserved.     Some  skulls  likewise  were  decayed  and  could  be 

easily      crushed 

with  the  fingers 

while  others 

were  white  and 

hard.      All    the 

skulls  found 

were     those     of 

adults  although 

one    or    two    of 

them  seemed  to 

be    persons    not 

over  twenty 

years  of  age  (see 


Fig  .55. — Quichua  skulls. 


fig-  55)-  So  far  as  has  been  observed  no  superencumbent  soil  was 
placed  on  the  skeleton. 

The  Quichua  Indian  carriers  and  workmen  watched  our  opera- 
tions with  interest  but  they  became  positively  frightened  when  we 
began  the  careful  measurement  and  examination  of  the  skulls. 
They  had  been  in  doubt  as  to  the  object  of  our  expedition  up  to 
that  point,  but  all  doubts  then  vanished  and  they  decided  we  had 
come  here  to  commune  with  the  spirits  of  the  departed  Incas. 

As  a  rule  the  evidence  of  deformation  of  the  skull  was  slight  in  a 
majority  of  the  specimens  examined.  Nevertheless  one  had  been 
much  flattened  behind  and  another  extremely  so  in  front.  There 
was  no  evidence  of  the  skulls  having  been  trephined  or  of  any  deco- 
rative patterns  having  been  made  on  any  part  of  the  skulls  or  bones. 
Three  of  the  skulls  are  now  in  the  Peabody  Museum  in  New  Haven, 
with  the  other  articles  I  found  here. 

On  the  steep  hillside  southeast  of  the  terraces  and  graves,  we 
found  many  less  important  ruins  completely  covered  by  the  forest. 
Were  it  possible  to  clear  away  all  the  rich  tropical  growth  that  has 
been  allowed  to  accumulate  for  centuries,  one  would  undoubtedly 
find  that  there  is  not  a  point  which  is  not  somehow  commanded 


522  AMERICAN   ANTHROPOLOGIST  [n.  s.,  12,  1910 

or  protected  by  a  maze  of  outworks.  No  clearing  or  path  having 
been  constructed  in  order  to  enable  them  to  be  seen,  we  could  not 
form  an  adequate  idea  of  their  extent.  There  seemed  to  be,  how- 
ever, no  limit  to  the  ruins  of  the  huts  where  lived  the  private  soldiers 
and  the  servants  of  the  garrison.  One  hall  measured  75  x  25  feet 
while  another  was  30  x  10  and  it  is  entirely  possible  that  there  are 
others  that  have  not  yet  been  located,  so  dense  is  the  jungle. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley  are  the  ruins  of  Incahuasy, 
near  Tambobamba,  which  are  described  by  Mr  Charles  Wiener.^ 
So  far  as  I  can  judge  from  the  drawings  he  gives  of  one  of  the  "pal- 
aces" the  construction  is  very  similar  to  that  used  at  Choqquequirau. 

I  believe  that  Incahuasy  and  Choqquequirau  were  originally 
frontier  fortresses  that  defended  the  valley  of  the  Apurimac,  one 
of  the  natural  approaches  to  Cuzco  from  the  Amazonian  wilds. 
A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  Pisac  and  Paucartambo,  north- 
east of  Cuzco,  with  Ollantaytambo  to  the  north  and  Choqquequirau 
to  the  west  form  a  complete  line  of  defense.  Each  is  located  in  one 
of  the  valleys  by  which  the  unconquered  Indians  of  the  great 
forest  could  attack  the  sacred  capital  of  the  Incas.  The  Incas  were 
never  able  to  extend  their  empire  far  into  the  forests  that  covered 
the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Andes  or  the  valleys  of  the  rivers  that  flow 
toward  the  Amazon.  They  did,  however,  push  their  empire  down 
the  valleys  until  they  encountered  the  savage  inhabitants  of  these 
wild  forests,  savage  Chunchas  or  Antis,  who  with  their  poisoned 
arrows  and  their  woodcraft  were  well  able  to  protect  themselves. 
The  Incas  were  obliged  to  stop  short  when  they  reached  the  thick 
forests.  The  massive  and  complicated  fortresses  of  Paucartambo, 
Pisac  and  Ollantaytambo  marked  the  extent  of  their  sway.  There 
were  undoubtedly  several  less  important  outlying  fortresses  lower 
down  the  rivers,  situated  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  able  to  prevent  the 
incursions  of  small  parties  of  wild  savages  and  give  notice  of  any 
large  expeditions  that  might  attempt  to  march  on  Cuzco.  They 
were  so  placed  as  to  be  practically  impregnable.  Choqquequirau 
was  evidently  one  of  these. 

I  fear  that  no  amount  of  dynamite  will  ever  disclose  at  Choq- 
quequirau a  "cradle  of  gold"  or  any  articles  of  great  value.     It 

^Perou  et  Bolivie,  pp.  293-5. 


BINGHAM]  THE   RUINS   OF   CHOQQUEQUIRAU  523 

was  not  a  temple  or  a  treasure  house,  but  a  fortress  where  life  was 
strenuous.  The  officers  of  its  garrison  were  not  likely  to  bring 
with  them  gold  ornaments  or  utensils,  and  the  poor  Incas  had  few 
such  baubles  left  at  the  end  of  their  career. 

Why  then  should  it  have  been  called  the  "Cradle  of  Gold"? 
One  answer  is  that  the  ridge  or  spur  on  which  Choqquequirau  lies, 
when  seen  from  a  distance-,  looks  not  unlike  a  hammock.  The 
setting  sun  often  tinges  it  with  gold  and  the  romantic  Incas  might 
easily  have  named  Choqquequirau  from  its  resemblance  to  the  only 
cradles  with  which  they  were  familiar. 

The  other  answer  is  that  the  name,  which  does  not  occur  in  any 
of  the  chronicles  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover,  is  a  modern 
invention.  In  one  of  the  buildings  we  found  several  slabs  of  slate 
on  which  visitors  have  been  accustomed  to  register  their  names. 
According  to  these  inscriptions  Choqquequirau  was  visited  in  1834 
by  a  French  explorer,  M.  Eugene  de  Sartiges,  and  in  July,  1834,  by 
two  Peruvians,  Jos6  Maria  de  Tejada  and  Marcelino  Leon,  who  may 
have  come  with  De  Sartiges. 

Charles  Wiener,  in  his  very  unreliable  but  highly  interesting 
Perou  et  Bolivie  (Paris,  1880)  says  (footnote,  p.  294)  that  Choq- 
quequirau has  also  been  visited  by  another  Frenchman,  "M. 
Angrand  whose  MS.  notes,  with  plans  and  drawings,  were  be- 
queathed to  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  in  Paris."  I  am  indebted 
to  Mr  W.  G.  Leland  of  the  Carnegie  Institution  for  a  copy  of  them. 
It  appears  that  Angrand  was  in  Peru  in  1847-8.  His  map  of 
Choqquequirau,  a  very  rough  sketch,  is  dated  30  Sept.  He  does 
not  seem  to  have  seen  much  besides  the  lower  plaza.  Angrand 's 
name  does  not  appear  on  any  of  the  slates. 

Besides  De  Sartiges,  and  the  two  Peruvians  already  mentioned, 
the  slate  records  show  that  in  1861,  on  the  loth  of  November,  Jose 
Benigno  Samanez  ("pro  Presidente  Castilla"),  Juan  Manuel 
Rivas  Plata,  and  Mariano  Cisneros  reached  the  ruins;  also  that 
on  July  4,  1885,  Luis  E.  Almanza,  J.  Antonio  Almanza,  Emiliano 
Almanza,  Pio  Mogrovejo,  and  a  party  of  workmen  did  what  they 
could  to  find  the  buried  treasure.  So  much  for  the  existing  evidence 
of  former  visitors. 

M.  de  Sartiges,  writing  under  the  nom  de  plume,  E.  de  Lavandais, 


524  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [n.  s  .  12,  1910 

published  an  account  of  his  visit  in  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes, 
in  June,  1851.  His  route,  the  only  one  possible  at  the  time,  was 
exceedingly  circuitous.  From  Mollepata,  a  village  near  the  sugar 
plantation  of  La  Estrella,  he  went  north  across  the  high  pass  between 
Mts.  Sargantay  and  Soray  to  the  river  Urubamba,  to  a  village  called 
Yuatquinia  (Huadquiiia  ?).  He  engaged  Indians  to  cut  a  trail 
to  Choqquequirau.  After  three  weeks  he  found  that  the  difficulties 
of  making  a  trail  were  so  great  that  it  would  take  at  least  two 
months  to  finish  the  undertaking  so  he  and  his  companions  made  their 
way  through  the  jungle  and  along  the  precipices  as  best  they  could 
for  four  days.  On  the  fifth  day  they  arrived  at  the  ruins.  In 
his  projects  for  exploration,  he  had  failed  to  take  into  account  the 
fact  that  tropical  vegetation  had  been  at  work  for  centuries  covering 
up  the  remains  of  the  Inca  civilization,  and,  as  he  was  able  to  stay 
at  Choqquequirau  only  for  two  or  three  days,  he  failed  to  see  some 
of  the  most  interesting  ruins.  The  giant  stairway  and  the  buildings 
on  the  upper  plaza  seem  to  have  escaped  his  attention  entirely. 
He  was  greatly  impressed  with  the  fortifications  on  the  south  side 
of  the  lower  plaza  and  speaks  of  them  as  though  they  formed  a 
triumphal  wall  (miir  triomphal) .  He  seems  to  have  spent  most  of 
his  time  hunting  for  treasure  behind  this  wall.  He  had  expected 
to  spend  eight  days  here  but  the  difficulties  of  reaching  the  place 
were  so  great  and  the  food  supply  was  so  limited  that  he  had  to 
hurry  back  without  seeing  more  than  the  buildings  of  the  lower 
plaza,  the  lower  terraces,  and  a  grave  or  two.  It  was  his  opinion 
that  fifteen  thousand  people  lived  here  once.  One  wonders  what 
they  lived  on. 

M.  de  Sartiges'  description  made  us  realize  how  much  we  were 
indebted  to  the  labors  of  the  treasure-seeking  company  for  pene- 
trating the  jungle  and  uncovering  buildings  whose  presence  other- 
wise would  never  have  been  suspected. 

Raimondi  says  that  in  1862,  Don  Juan  Gastelu,  a  Peruvian 
traveller,  left  Ayacucho  in  an  effort  to  go  up  the  valley  of  the 
Apurimac  in  a  canoe,  hoping  in  this  way  to  reach  the  ancient  for- 
tress. After  seven  days  of  perilous  navigation,  he  gave  up  the 
attempt  long  before  reaching  its  vicinity. 

The  interesting  question  remains:  Was  this  the  ultimate  refuge 
of  the  last  Inca? 


bingham[  the   ruins   OF   CHOQQUEQU IRAU  525 

It  is  reasonably  certain  that  Manco  Ccapac,  the  last  emperor, 
fleeing  from  the  wrath  of  the  conquerors,  took  refuge  in  a  place 
called  "Vilcabamba."  There  is  a  village  of  that  name  two  or 
three  days  journey  over  the  mountains  north  of  Choqquequirau, 
on  the  Vilcabamba  River,  an  affluent  of  the  Urubamba.  It  has 
never  been  explored  so  far  as  I  know. 

Peruvian  writers,  like  Paz  Soldan  and  the  great  geographer 
Raimondi,  are  positive  that  Manco  Ccapac's  "Vilcabamba" 
was  really  Choqquequirau.  They  base  their  belief  on  the  fact 
that  in  1566  an  Augustinian  friar,  Marcos  Garcia,  undertook  to 
penetrate  to  "Vilcabamba"  where  poor  old  Manco  Ccapac  had 
found  a  refuge.  In  describing  his  tour,  Father  Calancha,  the  author 
of  the  Chronica  moralizada  del  Orden  de  San  Augustin  (Libro  III, 
cap.  XXIV  and  xlii),  says  that  Garcia  founded  a  church  in  Pucyura, 
"two  long  days'  journey  from  Vilcabamba."  Raimondi  calls  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  Pucyura  is  only  two  leagues  from  the  pres- 
ent village  of  "Vilcabamba"  and,  while  he  admits  that  it  is  possible 
that  Father  Calancha  wrote  ''days  journey"  instead  of  "leagues'' 
by  mistake,  he  believes  that  the  reference  is  to  Choqquequirau 
which  is  in  fact  two  long  days'  journey  from  Pucyura.  It  is  at 
least  a  very  roundabout  method  of  inference.^ 

Raimondi  may  be  correct  but,  until  some  one  shall  have  ex- 
plored the  present  village  of  Vilcabamba  and  its  vicinity,  I  am 
inclined  to  the  opinion  that  Choqquequirau  was  merely  a  fortress. 

Yale  University, 

New  Haven,  Conn. 


1  Raimondi,  Peru,  Vol.  II,  page  161. 


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